Expressman&#39;s truck



sept. 29, 1931. T, B- NAKKERUD 1,824,786

EXPRESSMAN S TRUCK Filed Dec. 2o. 1928 35 ind and Patented Sept. 29, 1931 UNITED STATE-'sv' TBYGVE B. NAKKERUD, or SEATTLE, `msnmerror:f l

EXPREssMANs TRUCK- l' Application led. December`20', 1928, t Serial No. 327,208'.

My invention relates' to hand trucks, par# ticularly such as are intendednfory the use of expressmen in handling trunks and'k like lheavy single pieces, which are "ordinarilyy lifted from' thelo'orand carried upon the eXpressmans back, Y y. L

Itis onefobj ect of my invention to provide a hand truck by means ofV which such baggage `may bewheeled about, whereV conditions perinit, as, for example, upon thebaggage loor i of a depot, and which will then'permit the trunk to be elevatedabove the floor intoaposi tion where the expressman may easily lift engaging frame,gen'erally designated bythe e n numeral'l, and .ai trunk-supporting frame, 65

it, with the truck, upon hisrback without straining, so that both trunk and truck may be carriedrawayon the back of' the 'express-Y man." The trunk and truck lmay be carried up a flight of ste s', and at the top theyn'iayl again be wheele ,either with the trunk in#y the elevated position or droppedagain adr` jacent the floor., v v

It is an object to provide a truck of' the general character described above, which is simple in its constructionand reliabl'ein op#y ward the loor,`yetf will have no 4transverse,

obstruction lower than'the trunkitself to impede the expressmamorto strike his legs as he walks.

It is a further ob]`ect.to provide' means in association with such a truck to assist in lift-` supporting l'the load upon the ex b pressmans back; n

Other objects, and particularly those which relate more specifically to structural details,

, will be ascertained from a study of the drawings, speciication and claims forming a part of this application. c

My invention Vcomprises the novel parts, and the novel combination' and arrangement thereof, as shown in the accompanying drawings, described in the speciiicatiomand particularly defined by the vclaims terminating the same. n i f In the accompanying drawings 5I, have shown my invention in a form which isnow opreferredbymar f Figure 1 is av side elevation ofmyA device shown in use, the trunk supporting frame being elevated position;

Figure 2 1s a front elevation of thev same, t Y

also in elevated position, with vparts broken @l away."

Figure?) Y1s V'a side elevation-of the truck l 1n loweredposition, the upper portion being omitted. f

the "truck, ,substantiallyV on the line 4-4 of Figure 3. i Y c c y ,Y Essentially mymvention comprises a floor f generally designatedby the numeral'2the j :one being guided Yforj movement lengthwise kof the fother,: and,V preferablyprovided with some means whereby the two frames may be f held, so longas'may bedesired, in elevated 10 position, or' droppedat will so that the trunk@y supporting frame. lies closeto the Hoor. yAs

is common in hand.trucks,rwheels l0 would ordinarily be provided for direct engagement N with the -iloorand they trunk supporting frame y2-would 'be provided with a ledge 2.0l

vto engage Vbeneath'thebottom of the trunk.;

andimight be provided, also, with straps2l intended to passabout the trunkand securey its upper end, as will be evident in FigureBU l. Curved handles 11, formingupward extensions of the side members of theframe l, n may also be provided, .as is common in trucks, but these handles 11 preferably are so formedl 'as l201e-Hedge Overthe shoulders of the est pressm'an whenthe truck is carried in this ymanner,.and assist infsupporting the load,y

A-"strap or straps 22, which preferably are l" c secured tothe trunk supporting frame 2, may

also pass over his shoulders andassist in supe 'l porting theload5vas wellnas servingat times c as a means of raising theload, ina manner which will beK4 explained hereafter.A l

The floorengaging frame l may be comy posed of two side members 12, connected by 95 cross members `13, but If -preii'er that none ,off` n these cross-members lie at a level lower ,thanV theilevel of the trunk supportingledge v2O when the latte-ri is in raised position. y It is.'

, -the purposelofg thisto permit the express-"gcgliC0 Figure 4 is a transverse section through 60 manto get one leg immediately beneath the elevated trunk, as he kneels to lift it upon his back, and to permit free leg action of the expressman in Walking, so that he may walk naturally without danger of engaging any member of the truck with his legs, as is illus-v trated in Figure 1. Thus thefwheels 10 are. journaledinthe depending lowerv end of the side members 12 to support the truck in up; right position. These journals may be vformed in oi'set ears 14, as bestseen''in-Figuresfll andI 3, and a depending toe 15 may be provided to engage the iioor in the plane of the periphery of the Wheels 10, when the ramel isc-in 5 upright position.v For a purpose which will be apparent 1latergxa..foot= engaging ledgefrlr mayxalso befprovided atthe loweriend'othe frame 1', this preferablyprojectingelaterally and-outwardly oftheframe.: There-islittle :dan-ger 'of such: a ledgedamaging `door:y framesor the like, inasmuch as the over-al1 Width?.

of the truck is usually' considerably lesszthan thevzvvidtht ofth'e tru-nk Which'is to'beicarrie thereon. f

Iiikethe framefjhtheframe 2^ also has :tw

tion, and the trunk is lifted by swinging the truck into upright position.

Itwillbe evident that such a truck may be cheaply, easily, and lightly, yet strongly constructed of inexpensive iron pieces, together with the necessary straps and rollers. It may be employed as an ordinary hand truck, with the-.,trunlr.restingon the ledge 20 and against the combined frames 1 and 2, the frame 2 be- @thewexpressmans back',vand for him to rise Y or more-transverse members connecting: side.' members 23. The transverse member further one case may-bef the ledge 20. and its Ibacking piece 24, and Lin the other `instancestheftrans@ 'verse `1ne1nberf2')', to :whiiclrthe strap .22Vmaiyfa be secured; and to Whichalso: may-.be secu-red; theaftrunlri secu-ringfstraps: 21: Il maylr' also provide lajiexib'le kor 'yieldablef cross vconnection; such asi-,th'estrap-QG connecting! eyes 27 `supported f in= th'ellongitudinal membersf 28,;r thisvstrap 126being 1 adjustable;` as f indicated'iv by? the buckle 28', so lthat theHtruclQmayibe i adjusted to it'fcomfortablyjagainst thefback the frame A1 during-suchtislidingfmovement. For-this A'purpose a; lo-wer 'longitudinal'. slot 30! 5may beiprovided inethe ramecmembersf12,

netas-.been Saad, the frame an Sndabi lengthwise of E"the frame-1and @is guided inr:

and a* pin 31,-` projecting l tliereinto-from ithefframe 'members-23, guides theJ 'lower'p'ortin e offthe frame -2 intIYer'ameIf Similarly ra1- slot"33"in theupper portion: ofi-"the frame-rk 0 =members-12 receives a'k pin 3 `projectingfrom: f

the. slot33 terminates atits` upper` end in -an-A lupwardly directedl shoulder 'orledge, best' indicatedl inj Figure 1 at 32;- From* this it will 55be observed that lwhen lthe frame 2vl is fraised, and the pins Smoved laterally sui'ciently-,tol engage'them' with the ledge 32';v theframe-2I will Lbe" hield i such elevated* position;l To assist in raising'itftlfe strapi`22"may`berused;

60or handles 35', which are lin--e-iect'extensions ofthe pin 3, maybe employed. VIt is 'thefunce tion of the ledges'l tobeengaged by tlree'et ofthe'expressman dur-ing thislift'ing' opera# tiontoshold theframegl down. If preferred,f

sition Ywhile'.l 'the' truck isJ indhbrizontalfposie beneathitheload, fon it is'not necessary for him, in lthis position, to lift; the load, except as heisbeneath it. H'e-may now carryit upon" hisback 'in' the usual-way, orfhe may hook-- the handles: 11 and thel strap; 22 over his shoul- Vdertoassist vhim fin? carrying -the load in Ithe mannerfindicatedin-Figure 1. On reachingY a place where: the :load may'be- Wheeled, itisv a simple matter tokneel ragain, placing the Wheelsjl@ on: thefoor, and then to withdraw theezleg'"fromibeneathl `the load, and :to commence :wheelingvthe load Aand truck. The truck may be made of suiiicientlylight con-- struction that the Vadded,r Weight is nota .serious-factor; nor, .as has' been pointed out,

will itswid-tli be such'zastto cause damage inanylplace'whfereithe trunk itself can'be'moved through: `:The featurefoff having no cross picess'below :the trunk'1 itself', and :thus perfV mittin'gffreer laction iof f the expressmans legs in Walking, is: of; considerablel importance to theipractical success ofithisitruck.

Wh'atlfclaim as my invention is:

1. In an expressmans truck, a floor-engaging frame terminating?"at its lower end in spaced; unconnected" legs, l-oorengaging rollers-l carried thereon, a trunksupporting framer including a ledge, andiguided at its sides :onlyflon said* iioor+engaging-frame for movement',th'erealong between an elevated position, whereinthe users leg maybe placedbeneath th'ef ledge,- l and af lowered position, with the ledge close to the floor, and means for` maintaining the Vtrunk-supporting' frame in Jitsf elevated position.

2.2' In 'ani expressmans truck, aframe termina-ting at-,fits lower end in two depending,

spaced; 'and unconnected floor engaging legs,.. anda second frame having means for;pos1- tivelyfsupporting a trunk, said loorjenf ga'gingf'r'ameVv having a longitudinal .slot

terminating at its upper end in an os'etseat,

said second frame having a pin near its top and projecting intosaid slot, a handle secured on the end of said pin to manually raise said second frame to an elevated posi` tion, said pin being adapted to engage said offset seat to hold the second frame in saidelevated position. Y

3. In an expressmans truck, a frame terminating at its lowerk end in two depending, spaced, and unconnected floor engaging-legs, and a second frame having means for positively supporting a trunk, and slidable vrelative to the first frame, said floor engaging frame having longitudinal slots and said second frame having pins adapted vto project into the corresponding slots, said pins having heads on the outside of the floor engaging legs to prevent said legs from spreading.

Signed at Seattle, Vashingtomthis 14th day lof December, 1928.v

TRYGVE B. NAKKERUD. l 

